Arizona DUI Laws (2024 Guide)

According to Arizona’s DUI laws, it is illegal to drive or be in physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In addition, police officers can charge you with a DUI for a blood-alcohol content level (BAC) of 0.08% or greater. In some circumstances, such as driving a commercial vehicle, your BAC can be much lower and qualify as a DUI.

Overall, Arizona has a very strict approach to DUIs, referring to the act as the equivalent of a “violent crime.” As such, the state’s penalties even for a first-time offense could be seen as especially harsh compared to a state like California, where you could be a third-time DUI offender and not necessarily serve mandatory jail time.

These distinctions are broken down further in the following sections.

Arizona’s DUI Definition

First, there is a special emphasis in Arizona, as dictated by ARS § 28-1381, on the physical act of operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In Arizona, “under the influence,” should be understood as clearly impaired by a substance, legal or otherwise, to the point where you are not capable of safely operating any vehicle.

So if you are not capable of safely controlling your car or truck, but make any identifiable attempt to do so, you are guilty of a DUI according to Arizona law. Understanding this emphasis is important because you need not be driving to get charged with a DUI.

You Can Get an Arizona DUI Without Actually Driving

Even if you are not driving, any action that could be construed as “actual physical control” of your vehicle still violates Arizona’s DUI laws. Actual physical control goes into effect when you are deemed to be the primary party in control of your vehicle. Even if you aren’t on the road, actions like turning the headlights on, rolling the windows up or down or putting keys in the ignition or actions that dictate you are in actual physical control.

Please also note that you can still get charged with a DUI within two hours of operating a vehicle if your BAC is still above the legal limit during that time. That means even if you are at home, having driven an hour ago, you may still face charges for having too recently driven your car with a BAC above the legal limit.

How Arizona Law Defines “Under the Influence”

In Arizona, you are under the influence if you are impaired by a substance to the point it interferes with your ability to drive or operate a vehicle safely. This is typically defined according to reaching and exceeding a certain BAC limit. The standard is 0.08%, however it drops to 0.04% for commercial driving.

Arizona’s “Not A Drop” Law

The “not a drop” law, sometimes referred to as a baby DUI, concerns Arizona’s zero tolerance for underage driving and driving. If you are under 21 and drive with a BAC greater than 0.00%, you are guilty of a DUI.

A driver can have a detectable amount of alcohol in your system even after a few sips of beer or wine, making it very easy for underage drivers to violate this law and get into trouble.

Arizona “Shelter Rule” Defense

As stringent as Arizona’s laws can be about what falls under the definition of a DUI offense, the state also worried that some drivers, fearful of getting caught, would risk driving while intoxicated in the hopes of reaching home, a friend’s house, or hotel. And as parking isn’t necessarily an immediate defense against a DUI, some may have felt even more inclined to risk their safety and others by driving.

With this concern in mind, Arizona passed the “Shelter Rule” law, a temporary shelter defense against a DUI charge. Under this law, the act of pulling onto the side of the road or into a parking lot could be argued as relinquishing physical control, as you are avoiding the act of drunk driving.

There are a couple of factors that a judge or jury would need to take into consideration when deciding if a driver is in actual physical control:

• Are they behind the wheel? A person asleep in the back seat does not have the level of control over their vehicle that someone passed out behind the wheel might.
• Do they have keys in the ignition? While a lack of keys might help determine physical control in certain cases, many new vehicles do not use keys to start the ignition.
• What is the time of day? It makes the most sense to pull over and “sleep it off” if the driver does so in the middle of the night.

The more favorable these mitigating factors in demonstrating the relinquishment of actual physical control, the less likely you are to be convicted of a DUI.

Although the Arizona DUI laws label most offenses as misdemeanors, the consequences are still serious, even for the very first time. The severity of penalties also increase when drivers move from a simple DUI to an extreme or aggravated DUI.

Arizona’s Aggravated DUI Penalties

In Arizona, you have committed an aggravated DUI if you:

• Are arrested of a DUI with a suspended, revoked or canceled license.
• Commits a third DUI offense within 84 months of a previous conviction.
• Commit a DUI offense while a person under 15 is in the car.
• Has an ignition interlock device (IID) in place, but refuses to submit to a BAC test.

While most DUIs can be charged as a misdemeanor, an aggravated DUI is a felony that carries stiff punishment if convicted. Penalties include up to two years in prison, loss of your driver’s license for a year, mandatory entrance into an alcohol education, treatment and screening program, addition of a certified IID in your vehicle, and mandatory community service.

Arizona’s Extreme DUI Penalties

An extreme DUI refers to drivers with a BAC level exceeding 0.15%. The first time this happens, drivers serve a mandatory jail sentence of at least 30 days without the eligibility of probation or a suspended sentence. Additionally, they must pay a minimum fine of $2,500. Any vehicle you drive must get an IID installed, and you are required to enroll in an alcohol screening, education and treatment program.

While the extreme DUI has harsher punishments than a standard DUI charge, it still gets classified as a misdemeanor.

For the second offense and beyond, the punishments become even more severe. Your license gets automatically revoked for a year, and you face a minimum jail sentence of 120 days. In addition to the mandatory IID and alcohol screening, education, and treatment program, you must also perform community service.

With each subsequent offense, DUI penalties get harsher. In the chart below, you can see how the status of the charge changes, as well as the associated punishments.

	First-Time Offense	Second-Time Offense	Third-Time Offense
Misdemeanor or felony?	Class 1 misdemeanor	Class 1 misdemeanor	Class 4 felony
Jail time?	Minimum10 days in jail	Minimum 90 days in jail, with at least 30 days served consecutively	Will serve minimum of 4 months to a maximum of 2 years in jail; not eligible for probation or suspended sentence
Fine?	Minimum $1,250 fine	Minimum $3,000 fine	From $4,000 to $150,000 in fines
Mandatory IID installment?	Yes, for 12 months; 18 months for BAC of 0.20 or greater	Yes, for 12 months; 18 months for BAC of 0.20 or greater	Yes, for two years
Driver’s license suspended/revoked?	No	Yes, for 12 months	Yes, for three years
Alcohol education, treatment, screening?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Probation?	Up to 5 years	Up to 5 years	Up to 10 years; aggravated DUIs can mean you are required to serve two-thirds of your probation
Community service?	Yes	Yes	Yes

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It’s important to remember that the severity of subsequent DUI charges increases the closer they occur together; typically, the escalation in severity refers to multiple convictions happening within a seven-year period.

According to ARS § 28-1321, the “implied consent affidavit,” is served to any driver suspected of a DUI offense where they refuse to or are for whatever reason cannot submit to testing that determines their blood alcohol concentration or drug content. This affidavit is the equivalent of a DUI citation.

For this reason, all drivers are required to submit to testing. The first time a driver refuses, their driving privileges get suspended for a year; a second refusal within 84 months of the first will cause a two-year suspension.